VCT APAC Kickoff: Participants, Schedule, and Teams to Watch

We’ll see the Asia Pacific region back in action in two weeks for the VCT APAC Kickoff tournament. Teams such as Paper Rex, DRX, and BLEED Esports highlight the event. 

Participants

A handful of new rosters will make their first appearances in this Valorant tournament. Here, you will see the following 11 teams battle for two sports at Masters Madrid:

• DetonatioN FocusMe
• DRX
• Gen.G
• Global Esports
• Paper Rex
• Rex Regum Qeon
• T1
• Talon Esports
• Team Secret
• ZETA DIVISION
• BLEED Esports

Some rosters decided to stick together ahead of 2024, but others will come gunning fresh from the oven. It’ll be interesting to watch whether Paper Rex will continue dominating the region or if any teams will steal their throne.

Schedule And Format

The VCT APAC Kickoff will follow the same format as the Americas tournament:

Group Stage: February 17 to February 21, 2024

• Teams are divided into three groups and will play in a Double-Elimination format.
• The highest-placing team from Champions 2023 has received a BYE in Group C, which makes up for the uneven participants (11 teams).
• All matches are Best of 3.
• The top team from each group advances to the Playoffs, while the second place team advances to the Play-in.
• The third and fourth-place teams are eliminated.

You can refer to the image below to see how the groups were divided in the APAC region:

Play-in: February 22, 2024

• Three teams play one Round-Robin group.
• All matches are Best of 3.
• The one survivor advances to the Playoffs.

Playoffs: February 24 to February 25, 2024

• Four teams play in a Single-Elimination bracket.
• Semifinals are Best of 3
• Grand Finals are Best of 5.
• The top two teams qualify for Masters Madrid.
• First place receives 3 Pacific Points.

Teams To Watch

Paper Rex has dominated the Asian region for multiple years, and they’re expected to do it again. So, we’ll ignore the “W key enjoyers” and give the spotlight to some other teams to look out for:

BLEED Esports

Team composition:

• Derrick “Deryeon” Yee
• Ngô “crazyguy” Công Anh
• Nutchaphon “sScary” Matarat
• Javier “Egoist” Chua
• Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker

In November 2023, the “El Diablo”, Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker, relocated to the Asia Pacific region to join BLEED Esports. Despite joining the team months ago, the roster has yet to play an official match. This event will be the first time we see yay debut in his new team and see if he’ll dominate the competition.

Global Esports

Team composition:

• Abhirup “Lightningfast” Choudhury
• Benedict “Benkai” Tan 
• Russel “Russ” Mendes 
• Gary “blaZek1ng” Dastin 
• Niko “polvi” Polvinen

Indian organization Global Esports has chosen to live up to its name, signing five players from five countries for their 2024 Valorant roster. Interestingly, the team imported two Europeans into the roster. A familiar face, Benedict “Benkai” Tan, has also made it on the roster and will seek revenge against his former team, Paper Rex. 

Talon Esports

Team composition:

• Thanamethk “Crws” Mahatthananuyut
• Jittana “JitboyS” Nokngam
• Seungmin Oh “ban” Joseph
• Peter “Governor” No 
• Lionel “lenne” Lim 
• Thanachart “Surf” Rungapajaratkul

Talon Esports abandoned the ship on their full Thai roster and decided to bring in three foreigners. They poached ex-T1 player Seungmin Oh “ban” Joseph and also brought in Peter “Governor” No, who previously played in North America, forming a six-man roster. Is importing players the new meta for Asia Pacific teams? Find out in two weeks!